🖨️ Print-friendly: use Ctrl+P (⌘P) or your browser menu to print this chart cleanly.
From “a little” to “too much” — always with DE. This guide explains Exprimer la Quantité in French with clear rules, real examples and practice for every CEFR level. For instance: « un peu de sucre » — a little sugar.
From “a little” to “too much” — always with DE
| Expression | Exemple | Traduction |
|---|---|---|
| un peu de | un peu de sucre | a little sugar |
| beaucoup de | beaucoup de travail | a lot of work |
| trop de | trop de bruit | too much noise |
| assez de | assez de temps | enough time |
| plus / moins de | plus de café, moins de sel | more coffee, less salt |
| autant de | autant de chance | as much luck |
| Expression | Exemple | Traduction |
|---|---|---|
| quelques | quelques amis | a few friends |
| plusieurs | plusieurs fois | several times |
| une dizaine / une centaine de | une dizaine de personnes | about ten people |
| la plupart de + article ! | la plupart des gens | most people |
💡 La règle d’or
After a quantity word → always bare de / d’ (never du / de la / des) : beaucoup de fruits ✅, beaucoup des fruits ❌.
TWO exceptions that keep the article : la plupart des gens, bien des fois.
quelques (a few, countable) vs un peu de (a little, uncountable) : quelques amis · un peu d’eau.
📚 Free French lessons at learnfrench.co
beaucoup ___ amis (the golden rule)
d’
a few books = ___ livres (countable)
quelques
most people = la plupart ___ gens (exception!)
des
Translate into French: « There’s too much salt in the soup. » (translation)
Il y a trop de sel dans la soupe.
Translate into French: « I have a few questions. » (translation)
J’ai quelques questions.
Translate into French: « Most French people love cheese. » (translation)
La plupart des Français aiment le fromage.
Go further: get the full picture in our guide 7 common French mistakes English speakers make.
From “a little” to “too much” — always with DE. Follow the rules and patterns in the lesson above, and practise with real sentences like « un peu de sucre » (a little sugar).
Yes — « un peu de sucre » means « a little sugar », and « beaucoup de travail » means « a lot of work ». The lesson above has many more examples with explanations.
This topic is introduced around A2 and refined at higher levels — pick your level from the links at the top of the page. You can also drill it with the interactive exercises and games below.
Games built from this exact page — turn what you just read into play:
4 quick questions on « Exprimer la Quantité » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →